SEVEN people have been arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown on the trafficking of women into the West Midlands to work as prostitutes.

SEVEN people have been arrested as part of a nationwide crackdown on the trafficking of women into the West Midlands to work as prostitutes.

Staffordshire police executed warrants in Redditch, Burton, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and Devon yesterday, arresting five men and two women.

The pre-planned raids, supported by other forces and the Immigration Service, were part of Operation Pentameter, a national campaign to tackle the illegal exploitation of women and children brought to Britain from overseas.

Six of those detained - aged between 34 and 62 - are believed to be Chinese.

The six were taken to Burton police station, where they were being interviewed today.

The women, believed to be from China and aged in their 30s, are being supported by specially-trained female police officers.

Det Insp Mark Abbotts, from the Major Crime Unit, said: "We are treating these women as victims of crime."

More than 70 police officers were involved in yesterday's operation, which followed several months of intelligence gathering.